Unwell
by SpadeDiamondHeart92
Summary: Modern!/Human! AU The average and not-so-average days for our favorite family. Main characters change with each chapter! Rating changed to T for a bit of cussing and serious themes. Currently on hiatus so I can work on other projects.
1. Chapter 1

7 o'clock sharp. That's when they woke him. Like clockwork, every morning, every day. He got up, slowly dragged his feet to the bathroom, and began to change into his normal clothes. He put on his favorite shirt, a tee with a large blue six printed on the front and back, which was, coincidentally, his name. Six then dressed into a simple pair of blue jeans, and then put on his favorite plain white socks. He quickly looked himself over in the mirror, combed his curly hair, and walked out into the common room.

Currently, there were two more people awake, Tommy and Aaron. Tommy sat watching the news, which he did religiously, and Aaron was sitting beside him, probably sleeping. Tommy and Aaron happened to be Six's good friends there at the hospital, so he plopped down beside them, and sat. Six was always quiet, so the other boys learned how to read his emotions in other ways. "Hey, Six," Tommy said, smiling over at Six. "What's up?"

"The usual. I woke up, and then I came here," Six explained quietly. Tommy gasped. "Wow, you're talking today!" Six rolled his eyes, and gently punched Tommy in the arm. Apparently this caused Aaron to wake up, as he yawned and looked over at Six. "Oh, hey, Six," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. Aaron was never a morning person, so this type of thing was common. "Hey, Aaron. Get enough sleep?" Six teased. Aaron grumbled and then turned to watch the TV, along with Tommy.

The rest of Six's day was almost extremely average. He ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner, watched TV, and of course, drew. His favorite thing to draw was items and objects, but today, he felt a little different. Instead of drawing what objects he saw around the hospital, he drew people. First, he did a quick sketch of one of the female guards (women were easier to draw for him), then a doodle of the woman they always had to put into a straitjacket because she nearly attacked people. At the end of the day, Six gathered his drawings and took them to his room to look them over. He hated not having an eraser, but rules were rules, and he was forced to follow them.

A knock came to the door. "Come in," Six called. It was one of the nurses; Gina, he believed. "You have visitors, Six." Visitors? Who would come to...oh. It was _them_. His old friends. It had to be. His family wanted nothing to do with him, so it couldn't be them. Six pondered this as he stepped out of his room and walked to the visiting area. There, in the middle of the room, were the people he dreaded to see. Nine was the first to look up from his hands. "Six!" he cried out.


	2. Chapter 2

"Uh...hey...Nine," Six said monotonously. The twins, Three and Four, ran up to Six and hugged him tightly, the others following suit.

"Six, we've been so worried about you!"

"How've you been?"

"Did they treat you well?"

"Is your treatment going smoothly?"

"Do you still have vis-" Six cut One off with a wave of his hand. "I'm fine, thanks for asking." The group recoiled at the harshness in Six's tone. "What?" he said, looking at them. "Did you all think I'd be happy to see the people who never, not even once, called or visited me? When I was thrown in here by my parents, none of you did a thing! No one visited, no one called, no one wrote! You all acted like I went off the deep end, like my mind was too far gone! And now you expect me to be happy to see you?!" He snarled. The twins look very hurt by his words, and dashed behind Seven. She was the first to speak up. "Six...I know I don't have a clue what it was like to be alone like that, but...we were really just trying to help you. We didn't contact you because we wanted you to focus on improving yourself, not worrying about us."

Six pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "And it didn't once cross your mind that you might want to at least explain why you weren't contacting me? I thought you had all forgotten me, like I was a mad man who couldn't even rationalize simple things! Like I wasn't your best friend anymore!" Seven was taken aback, and was about to retaliate when One stepped forward. "It's not their fault, Six! I was the one who told them not to contact you! I was the one who told them you were crazy! I was the one who treated you like you _were_ crazy! If you want to blame anyone, blame me." Six's face went from enraged to surprised. He knew One didn't really liked him, but he never expected One to actually stop his best friends from seeing him.

Nine spoke up from the momentary silence. "Listen, Six, what we really came here to tell you was that we're checking you out. All the papers are filled out and everything, you won't even have to go back to your parents' house. You'll live with us." Six's face softened. After all this time, it seemed that they really did still care about him. "Wh-what..? You're checking me out..?" Five nodded. "Yes. Your doctor says you've improved a lot, more than almost all his other patients. Six, listen to us. We _love_ you. If it weren't for One," Five shot One a death stare, "we wouldn't have even let them put you in here." Six immediately felt guilty. His friends did care about him, it was One who had forced them not to contact him.

"Besides, it'll be great having you around the house. I might even go back to taunting you," Eight added. Six chuckled at the remark, but the others stared at Eight with scowls. "Thanks so much, guys...I hope you'll forgive me for what I said earlier." Six said quietly. "Already forgiven." Seven chuckled. They all shared a giant hug, and Two finally said, "So, you wanna finally break free of this prison?" Six replied, "Of course! Let me go get my stuff," and dashed off to his room. Before he could open the door, though, Tommy and Aaron confronted him. "So, you're finally leaving us, huh?" Tommy said coldly. "Y-yeah...I'm really so-" Tommy cut him off with a laugh. "Dude, I'm just messing with you! Go out there and do not return! Live life, be a human!" Six chuckled and nodded. "All right." With that, he walked into his room and quickly gathered all his belongings.

After saying goodbye to Tommy and Aaron (Aaron said nothing but gave him a bear hug) and making sure every paper was filled out, Six and his friends walked out the door. The first thing the artist noticed were the colors. Inside the hospital, everything was a dull gray or white, but out here, everything was vibrant. Brilliant yellows, bright oranges, intense greens, Six embraced it all. He ran around the parking lot for a minute, yelling "Yes!" and letting the wind comb through his hair, enjoying every second of it. When he finished, he gave everyone a hug (even old One), and climbed into the car with Two, Five, Nine, and Seven. He couldn't wait to arrive home- to his _real_ home, with his _real_ family- his friends.


	3. Chapter 3

Six knew that they all had respectable jobs- the twins ran a library, Two and Five had a workshop, Seven was an athlete- but he had not expected them to be able to afford a three-story house in such a pleasant neighborhood. "How do you all-" Six began to ask, but was interrupted by Seven. "How do we afford this? I'm a stripper at night." Everyone turned to look at her. "Just kidding! Gosh," she chuckled, and unlocked the door. Inside, the group led Six up the stairs to the second floor, and stopped in front of a door. "Six," Nine began, "welcome to your room." Nine opened the door and Six gawked at what lay before him. The room had faded light green walls, cream colored carpet, a full sized bed in the corner with a wood nightstand beside it, among all of Six's belongings from his old house.

"H-how...it's wonderful!" Six cried, and practically threw himself on his new bed. The others laughed, and some stepped inside. Nine walked over to the nightstand, and opened a drawer. He pulled out a necklace chain with a small key attached to it. "I believe this is yours," he said, handing it to Six. Six gasped quietly. "My key…" Two looked over, and smiled. "When your family gave us your things, they included that, saying you always wore it and you couldn't have it in the hospital. So we've kept it here for you with the rest of your stuff." Six could only beam as he tightly hugged Two, and then all the others. After he had unpacked and settled, he joined the others downstairs for dinner. "We're getting pizza," Seven called to One in the kitchen. "What? No, I'm making something!" One called back.

The two bickered back and forth for a moment before Seven took a vote. "All in favor of pizza, raise your hand," she said. Six hands shot up. "All in favor of One cooking, raise your hand." This time, only a few hands came up. "Alright, looks like pizza it is," Seven said smugly, smirking at One. He growled at her, and the rest of the group laughed. "Wait, shouldn't you watch what you eat, being an athlete and all?" Nine asked. "Yeah, but a few slices of pizza isn't going to completely screw up my diet. Besides," Seven added, "I'm in better shape than, like, all of you." Eight shot Seven a glare. She laughed it off and ordered the pizza, then flipped on the TV, which was on the CW. "Ooh, let's watch One's favorite show," Seven said, looking at One, who was walking into the living room, "iZombie!"

"What? iZombie is not my favorite show! In fact, my favorite show is-" Seven interrupted him. "Oh, hush, old man, and watch with us!" She patted the seat on the couch next to her, and, reluctantly, One sat down beside her. Six found himself engrossed in the show, which he found quite interesting. It was humorous, unique, and overall a great show. Soon after they started watching, the pizza arrived and Seven passed it out to everyone (she hogged most of the pepperoni). While they were watching, some of the group began to fall asleep, including Seven. She was probably tired from training and working, so they quietly turned the TV off and let her be. Six was quite exhausted himself, so he bid everyone goodnight and dragged his feet up the stairs and into his bed, not even bothering to pull up the blankets.

The morning was loud. First, Eight barged into Six's room and literally shook him awake, then everyone was yelling about something, and Six was overall very grumpy. He was so tired he almost spilled the milk he was pouring into a cereal bowl, and tried to quietly eat breakfast while the others raced out. "See ya, Six, gotta go practice!" Seven had yelled. "We'll be back around 6!" Two and Five had said. "Got a class to attend, later!" Nine had called out. "I'm going to the store," One had mumbled. He had wanted to scream at them to be quiet, but didn't because he was simply too tired to argue. Of course, the twins were silent but hugged Six before they left, which left just Six and...Eight. Six knew he was in for a rough day.


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, so maybe Eight wasn't all that bad. He hadn't done anything to bother Six all day, and was being relatively quiet. Odd, though, considering that he _was_ Eight and it was in his nature to be loud. Six decided to check on the other person and quietly walked down the stairs to his room. He knocked on the door, and when no reply came, he slowly opened it. Inside, Eight was sitting on the floor, making...a card. Eight's head jerked up at the sound of his door opening, and when he saw Six standing there, he covered the card with his hands and blushed immensely. "Uh, you okay, Eight?" Six asked. Eight, in shock for a moment, was only able to violently nod his head. "What're you making?" Six inquired, as he moved to sit down beside Eight. "Oh, this is just a card for someone," Eight hastily explained. "May I see it?" Six asked. Hesitantly, Eight nodded, and handed the card to Six. Six opened it, and lightly gasped at the beautiful handwritten note inside. It told the person receiving it that despite what others may say, and despite what Eight had done to them in the past, they were the most unique and wonderful person that Eight had ever met.

"Eight, this is lovely! Who's the lucky girl?" Eight blushed again. "She's, uh, someone I met a long time ago with my friends. We haven't talked for a while, and her birthday is coming up, so I decided to make her something. I was gonna finish a drawing, but…" Six practically squealed in excitement. "Eight, you like to draw?!" Eight nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not very good at it," Six rolled his eyes. "I bet you're great. You mind showing me a drawing of yours?" Eight shook his head. "There's not much to see. It's really a hobby, nothing I'm super interested in. But this is what I have so far.." Eight flipped the card to the front page, and Six gasped. There, on the front of the card, was a headshot of a androgynous-looking girl with thick, curly dark hair, and a smile on her lips. If Six had looked closer, he would've noticed the girl looked slightly boyish, but Eight pulled the card away before Six could look closer.

"That's a fantastic drawing! What's her name?" Eight turned away as he blushed again. "Uh, her name is Sasha. Her birthday's on Wednesday." Six smiled. "That's great! You should definitely visit her." Eight laughed. "I will. You think I need to fix up anything on the drawing or writing?" Six shook his head. "Nope, it's perfect! She'll love it." Eight smiled at the younger boy, and hugged him. Six blushed hard; he was not used to much physical contact besides hugs from his friends, and Eight had probably only hugged him once or twice throughout their friendship. They weren't very close due to Eight's old habit of taunting and teasing Six. Six quickly pulled away. "S-sorry...I don't get hugs from you very often…" Eight's smile faded. "No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable." Six shook his head. "It's fine, really." The two stayed in silence for a bit before Six finally spoke up. "Need anything else?" Eight shook his head. "No, I'm fine." Awkwardly, Six left the room. When Eight was sure Six was out of earshot, he let out a scream between his teeth. He had probably just ruined their relationship again.

That night, after eating dinner, Six hurried up to his room and began rubbing his key. He did that when something troubled him. He stared at the door as he sat on his bed rubbing the key, and jumped when a knock sounded on it. "Come in," he spoke. Eight quietly stepped in, and sat beside Six on the bed. Six inched away. Eight let out deep sigh, and began to speak. "Six...I'm very sorry for the way I've treated you in the past, and for hugging you. I know you probably won't listen to me, but I really do care for you, despite how I might treat you. You're one of the only friends I have. I only really teased you to get attention, everyone else thinks I'm dumb and not worth their time. I know you probably do too, but I kinda hope you don't. I'm sorry for being an asshole all these years." For a moment, Eight contemplated leaving. Six's head was down and he didn't respond. Just as he was about to stand up, Six hugged Eight. Eight swore his heart stopped.

"I'm sorry too...for not being a good friend. I didn't know the others don't really pay much attention to you. I'm _so sorry_ , Eight." Eight smiled lightly at the boy. He hugged him back. "Are we good now?" Six chuckled, and replied, "Yeah, we're good now." The two sat there for a while, simply enjoying each other's presence. Finally, Six began to nod off. Eight chuckled and gently laid Six into his bed, pulling the covers up over him to his chest. "Goodnight," he whispered, and then he walked out, slowly closing the door behind him.


	5. Chapter 5- The Outing

**Author's Note: If you're wondering, here are the ages for the characters: One- 49, Two- 44, Three and Four- 22, Five- 28, Six- 18, Seven- 23, Eight- 26, Nine- 21. WARNING: This chapter gets violent, so if you do not want to read that, skip this page. Otherwise, enjoy! And if you want to know anything else about the story or characters, leave a review or message me! (I was quite nervous to post this chapter, as I didn't know how y'all would think of it or if it was the right way to go with this story, but I believe this is the right path. Don't worry, though, the next chapter will be mostly positive!)**

When he woke up, Six felt a lot better. This was unusual, because even though his nightmares had gone away, he still tossed and turned a lot at night, so waking up refreshed was odd for him. He managed to brush it off and join the others downstairs for breakfast, and soon noticed most of them were already gone. The only ones there were Eight and One, and Eight was acting...strange. He wouldn't make eye contact with Six, and was almost avoiding him. One was doing his own thing in the living room, probably watching a show by the sound of it, Eight was starting to put his cereal bowl in the sink, and Six decided to finally say something to Eight. "Hey, Eight, are you okay?" Eight jumped slightly, and turned around, nodding. "Yeah...just didn't sleep very well last night." It was now Six's turn to nod, and he replied, "I actually slept pretty well. I didn't toss and turn and my nightmares are gone."

Eight blushed lightly at Six's comment. "That's good. Um, Six. I was wondering...do you wanna go to the store with me? One will be the only one here, besides you, if you don't go…" Eight lowered his voice, "and I don't think you want to be around him all day." Six chuckled. "Sure, I'll go with you." The two smiled and went to their rooms to prepare; Six put on his shoes and Eight grabbed the keys to his car, and soon they were out the door. Six noticed that Eight's car was a nice one, a convertible with the top currently down, and then he began to wonder how Eight afforded it. In fact, he never saw Eight actually work. "Hey, Eight...you have a job, right?" Eight turned to him, nodding. "Yep, I sell hardcore drugs." Six's eyes widened. "Just kidding! I actually work at an auto shop, but I don't have to go in very often. So I repair stuff when I can. I've actually got a little business from it."

"Cool!" Suddenly, Six's face saddened. He began to think about how everyone else contributed to society and to the group except for him. He wasn't in college, didn't have a job, and spent most of his time drawing. "Eight...do you think I'm a nuisance? Everyone else has a job or does something, but I don't." Eight looked at him with surprise. "You're not a nuisance! Sure, everyone else may have a job or is in school, but you are free. You can go to school or get a job, but will that really make you happier?" Six pondered it for a moment as they stepped into the car. When Eight started it, Six began to speak. "I think it would. I want to do something with my life, and I think the best way to do that would be to do what I love. I want to become a real artist, and I'll start by doing commissions and applying to art school."

Eight simply smiled. He hadn't seen the boy this determined in a long time, and it pleased him that Six may be regaining his confidence. "That sounds great! I think you should definitely apply for art school, you're the best artist I know!" Six blushed, and changed the topic. "Thanks...let's not forget what we came to the car for." They laughed as Eight pulled out of the parking lot, and drove towards the store. Turns out, they only spent an hour getting groceries and the rest of the day at the mall (it was Six's idea). The duo saw a movie, ate at the food court, and even bought stuff from all the shops. When they finally walked out, it was dark and no cars were left in the parking lot, except theirs, and Eight had ten missed calls from One. The two laughed about it, and began walking to the car. Six, though, began to feel a little uncomfortable out there. "Eight...you see anyone? I'm kinda nervous and I don't know why…" Eight stopped and looked around, squinting in the darkness. At first, he saw no one, but as he trained his vision on one of the streetlamps in the parking lot, something appeared.

It was a person, and they were holding something...a handgun. Six saw it too, and grabbed onto Eight. "Eight...let's go…" Eight nodded and they both began to dash towards the car, as if their lives depended on it. Just as they reached it, a shot rang out, and Eight shrieked and fell. Six cried out, "Eight!" and dropped to his knees beside him. Blood was gushing out of a bullet wound in Eight's leg, and Six began to hyperventilate. "Eight..!" This wasn't happening. His best friend was not bleeding out beside him, he was in a nightmare, none of it was real, none of it was real, none of it was real- Six let out a sharp cry as a shoe collided with his stomach. The man holding the gun pointed it to Six's forehead, and kicked Eight in the jaw when Eight tried to pull the man down. Both shrieked, Eight in fury and Six in pain. Adrenaline began to rush through Eight's body, and he managed to tackle the man before he could hurt Six anymore. The man tried to shoot Eight in the head, but when the shot rang out, it only grazed his ear. Eight slapped the gun out of the man's hand while he was in shock, and began punching him over and over in the face. "Eight…" Six whispered, blood beginning to drip out of his mouth. The kick had been stronger than he thought. Eight whipped around, just enough time for the man to throw him off and scramble for his gun.

It was too late for Eight to even think about getting the guy to the ground again. The man already had the gun in his hand and shot. But it didn't hit Eight. It had hit Six, and the wail that came from Six was nothing Eight would ever forget. Eight tried to run after the man, who had taken their things, but couldn't even pull his left leg up due to the shot. The man ran away into the darkness, and Six moaned something. Eight looked around, and was terrified by what he saw. Six had blood pouring out from a hole in his side. Eight wasn't medically trained, but he at least knew that had hit something major. If they didn't get to a hospital soon, they would both be goners. The last thing Six saw as he faded out of consciousness was Eight's face, stained with tears, and red and blue lights in the distance.


	6. Chapter 6- The Recovery

**Author's Note: it's gonna be gay and fluffy #SevenKnows**

Six woke up in a cold, white room, a curtain on either side of the bed he was on. He tried to sit up, but immediately stopped once he felt the pain in his side. He lifted up his shirt- which he noticed was now a regular hospital scrub- and saw a wound with stitches in it. Then he remembered. Him and Eight had been shot by a man who had stolen their things. He guessed Eight still had his phone then and called an ambulance; that would explain how he got to the hospital. Speaking of Eight...was he alright? Was he severely injured? Did he- Six's thoughts were cut off by the curtain on his left being thrust open. There stood everyone. Nine, Seven, Five, the twins, One and Two. Seven let out a breath she had been holding in and rushed to Six's side, and attempted to hug him. Thankfully, she didn't touch his wound, and pulled away. "Six! I'm so happy you're safe!"

Six smiled weakly. He was happy there were there for him, but he was still very concerned about Eight. "Is Eight...okay?" he croaked. Five began to speak. "Eight took a beating...he's okay, but his bullet wound will take longer to heal. The bullet that hit you, thankfully, didn't go very deep, and none of your major arteries were affected. However, the bullet that hit Eight is going to keep him from walking for a while." Six looked down. This was his fault. If he hadn't have told Eight to stop, no one would've been hurt and they could've gotten home fine. "This is my fault," Six sighed. "No, it's not," came a voice from the corner. It was Two. "You were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. None of this is your fault." Six sighed again. "Can I see him? Eight?" The group looked at each other. "I guess, but we're not sure if you can walk either. And we'll need to take your IV…" Six realized that he hadn't even noticed the IV in his arm. Seven and Nine began to help him out of his bed, and when he stood up, the pain in his side returned at full force. However, he didn't let this deter him from seeing his best friend.

Eventually, they found Eight's room, and Six cried out his friend's name when he saw him. He had a dark bruise on his jaw from where he had been kicked, and multiple cuts and scrapes on his body too. Six gently placed his hand on Eight's shoulder, and Eight jerked up. "Huh-uh...what? Six..? You're okay!" Six nodded, and the two shared a tight hug, Eight careful not to poke Six's wound. "Yeah, but are you?" Eight looked down. "We've been in here for a while...since Sunday, when we were attacked. Today's Tuesday, I think. And to answer your question...I don't know. I don't know when I'll be able to walk again." Six sighed. "Oh...I hope it's soon. Sasha's birthday is tomorrow, right?" Eight blushed, and turned away from the boy. "Y-yeah…I think I can make it." Six smiled, and a doctor walked in. "Hello, Eight," The doctor said with a smile. She had a clipboard in her hands and was writing something on the paper it held. "I'm here to tell you that are officially free from the hospital. All I need you to do is take it easy for a while and try not to walk so much, okay? And Six," she said, turning to him, "you are free as well. Like I told him, do not lay too much on your side or put pressure onto it, and make sure that you keep the wound clean and stitches intact. Other than that, enjoy your freedom," she said, and walked out.

When they arrived home, both Eight and Six practically fell on the couch and into each other's arms. Despite the looks from the others and both of their heavy blushing, they stayed curled up next to each other, and soon both had fallen asleep. Seven rolled her eyes and said, quietly, "They are _so_ gay," before walking to her room. The others soon followed suit, and after a while, Six and Eight were left alone on the couch. Eight woke up when Six began to toss and turn and whimper. The boy was sweating and panting, and Eight became very worried. "Six," he whispered, and grabbed Six's shoulder. Six jerked awake, and stared at Eight through the darkness. "Eight..?" Eight didn't respond, but pulled Six into a tight hug as the boy began to cry a little. "The nightmares," he choked out, "they're back." Eight sighed and held Six there for a moment, whispering comforting things to him. "You're safe, you're with me, I'm never going to let anything happen to you again…" Slowly but surely, Six's whimpers stopped, and he became quiet. Eight assumed he had fallen asleep, but when he tried to set the boy down, Six began to speak. "E-Eight...please don't ever leave me...I...I…" but before Six could finish, the clutches of sleep grasped him, and Eight was left wondering what the boy had really wanted to say.


	7. Chapter 7- The Birthday

Six rubbed his eyes as bright sunlight streamed in through the window, waking him up. He yawned and propped himself up, looking around. Eight wasn't there."Eight?" he called out; soon noticing no one else was around either. He began to wander the house, looking in each of their rooms, but to no avail. No one was home. Perhaps they all had to work? Eventually, after searching one last time, Six walked up to his room, and opened the door. "SURPRISE!" Everyone was in his room (even old One), a small table in the middle with a cake on it. Six beamed. How could he have forgotten his own birthday?! "Did you all-"

"Organize this little party? Nope, it was Eight's idea." Seven said from Six's bed, which she was sitting on. Everyone congratulated Six and said happy birthday to him, and Six thanked them all. Except, there was a tiny problem. Eight wasn't in the room. Before he had a chance to ask where the man was, though, Seven and the others began to sing "Happy Birthday" to him, and Six smiled widely. His friends had taken off from work and school just to be with him; it warmed his heart. They then prompted him to make a wish and blow out the candles on his cake, which were a yellow one and a blue nine sloppily stuck together. He quickly made his wish and blew out the candles, and despite being offered a piece of the cake, didn't want any. Seven had made it, and while the gesture was sweet, everyone knew she was a terrible cook. After everyone had finished eating some of the cake, the group led Six downstairs and all went to their rooms to retrieve something. When they returned, Six gasped.

Everyone had a present in their hands. The twins presented their gift first, and Six opened it with excitement. Inside the cardboard box were two books about art; the first on drawing people, the second on art history. There was also a card from both of them, and inside it was a handwritten note that said: "Dearest Six, we love you with all our hearts and congratulate you on turning nineteen, it was one of our favorite years, and might be yours too. Love, Three and Four". Six smiled and tightly hugged the small twins, who hugged him back with just as much love and appreciation. Everyone else gave Six hugs and a present, all except Seven. She walked up to Six and handed him a rectangular box with a card taped to it. He opened the card, which read: "Dear Six, I hope you have a wonderful nineteenth birthday! After all, you're only nineteen once! Anyway, I thought of you a lot while you were away and I really missed you. I hope you like the present we got you, it cost us 500 bucks. Be sure to use it a lot! Love ya, your friend, Seven". Puzzled, Six opened the box and gasped at what he saw. Inside was a laptop with a matching drawing tablet, something Six had wanted for as long as he had been an artist.

"You guys! You didn't have to-" Seven cut him off with a wave of her hand. "We _wanted_ to. We know how long and how much you've wanted one of these." Words couldn't form in Six's mouth, so he simply pulled everyone into a giant hug. But then the problem came back. Where exactly was Eight- oh, that's right. His friend's birthday was today, so he must've went to see her. Six frowned. "What's the matter?" Five asked. "It's nothing, really. I was just wondering where Eight was." The group looked at each other knowingly, then back at Six. "He's, ah, busy, at the moment. But he will be here, soon enough." After that, it got kind of quiet. The others started to leave because they had to work or go to class, and the ones who were off went out for walks or somewhere. Eventually, Six was left alone again. He decided to try and call Eight, but when he called, all he got was instant voicemail. Was his phone dead, or was he avoiding Six?

A creak sounded throughout the house, like that of a door being opened. It sounded like it was coming from...Eight's room? But Eight wasn't home...Six quietly crept towards the door, and opened it. Inside was none other than Eight, sitting on the ground with a bright smile on his face. "Eight? The others told me you were busy...I thought you were at Sasha's place…" Eight chuckled. "Six, um…" He blushed. "The card I was making wasn't for Sasha. I don't even _know_ a Sasha. It was for…" Eight looked Six in the eyes. "You." Six's pulse began to race. All this time, Eight had been planning a party for him? Before he could say anything, Eight stood up and grabbed the card from his bed, and handed it to Six. It read: "Dear Six, I don't know what my life would be like without you. I may have bullied you in the past, but it was really because I love you. I mean romantically. You are the most beautiful and unique man I have ever met, and I want to stay with you forever. I don't care what others may say about you; you are wonderful the way you are, and I wouldn't change a thing about you. I hope you have a fantastic birthday. I love you, Eight".

Six didn't know what to say. All this time, Eight had had romantic feelings for him. And when he thought about it, Six did too. Hell, he had even cuddled with the guy last night. "Eight...I think...I may love you, too." Eight grinned, and he took Six into a hug. "Uh, before we do anything else...can I…" Eight struggled for words; both of them blushing heavily. "Kiss me? Yes, yes you may." Eight gently pressed his lips against Six's, and Six pressed back. It seemed like it lasted forever until they finally pulled away for air. They looked at each other and laughed, with Six tackling Eight onto his bed. "Wanna know what would make this birthday the best?" Six whispered with a sultry voice; leaning into Eight's ear. Eight gulped, and whispered, "What?" back. "Cuddling and watching movies together!" The two laughed, and snuggled into each other as Eight flipped on the TV. As Eight searched for something to watch, Six put his head on Eight's chest and listened to his heartbeat. He swore it was beating faster than usual.

 **A/N: I wrote something as sweet as Six himself. Happy Valentine's Day! (Six is so innocent and cute I swear nothing bad will ever happen to him or Eight ever again) (okay I really need to stop updating these so fast)**


	8. Chapter 8- The Sister

When the others arrived home, they were not surprised to find Six and Eight snuggled together on Eight's bed. In fact, some of them even said they had expected something like that. But no one was as happy for the couple as Seven. She sat in the room and watched the two boys sleep, thinking back to her previous relationships. She was so engrossed in the recollection that she didn't even notice Six waking up. Six yawned and turned to face Seven, and yelped in surprise. What was Seven doing here?! "S-Seven! What're you doing here?" Six's words snapped Seven out of her trance and she giggled. "Uh, watching you adorable punks sleep." Six blushed even more, his face as red as a cherry. "Does everyone…?"

"Know that you two are officially a thing? Yep. We all saw you snuggled together." In this moment, Eight began to wake up, and blushed nearly as hard as Six when he saw Seven sitting there. "Seven!" He shrieked. The girl laughed, and stood up, making her way to the door. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone for a while." She chuckled, and walked out, closing the door behind her. The duo looked at each other and sighed simultaneously. "I'm hungry," stated Six. "Me too," Eight agreed. They looked at each other again with mischievous grins. Soon, while everyone was preparing for the day, the couple stepped out of Eight's room and into the living room. Six plopped down on the couch and Eight headed to the kitchen, but was stopped by an arm sticking out from behind the counter. "I'm making breakfast this morning, Eight," Two said. He looked up and laughed at the annoyed look on Eight's face. "I know you want to impress your new boyfriend and all, but I'm feeling rather kind today, so…" Eight blushed at Two's words, and gave up, making a beeline to the couch and sitting beside Six.

They quickly ate breakfast, which was actually edible since Two made it instead of Seven, and watched the others walk out the door. The twins had decided to stay home since Three was sick, so Eight and Six weren't completely alone, but the twins were quiet and kept to themselves, so it didn't bother the couple much. The two spent most of their day watching TV and resting (they were still trying to recover from their wounds), and around midday Eight got a phone call from his work, telling him to come in and help. "I've gotta go to work, but I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, Eight kissed Six's forehead, and left for work. The twins were mostly quiet the rest of the day, Four sometimes coming out to fetch his brother something to drink or eat, and Six mainly slept and doodled. Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Seven stormed in, tears streaming down her face. Six jumped up, and quickly ran to her side. "Seven! What's wrong?" Seven looked at Six with a pitiful expression, and hugged her friend tightly. She tried to talk, but could only manage to speak parts of words and bits of sentences. "Seven, calm down…" Six said, patting her back and leading her to the couch. When they reached the couch, Seven wiped her face with the back of her hand and gasped, "My sister...is dead."

"Wh-what?! Seven, please-"

"Six! She's dead! I-I was going to visit her in the hospital, and...and…" Seven took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and continued. "Her doctor warned us that she had only a couple months left to live, b-but we didn't think...she'd be gone this fast…" Six could only hold his dear friend and try to comfort her as she continued to sob. He tried to understand what had happened- apparently Seven's sister had a...he began to remember. Seven didn't like talking about it, but she had once confided in him that her sister, Jinx, had been diagnosed with leukemia. It had to at least have been a year or so, but Six still remembered hearing about it. "Seven...I'm so, so sorry…" Seven looked at him and wiped her tears again. "I need to be alone…" Just then, as she began to stand up, the twins rushed out of their room and hugged Seven tightly. Three began to jot something down in a notebook, and quickly showed it to Seven. 'We heard everything', it said.

Seven began to weep again, and fell to her knees, clutching the twins closely in a hug. Six slowly joined in the hug, and patted Seven's back. "I need to be alone for a while…" she choked out, and quickly slipped past her friends and into her room. That left Three and Four alone with Six, and they hugged him closely, like they had done to Seven. 'You think she will be alright?' Four wrote. "I don't know...I hope so." The boys stayed huddled together for a moment before Six whispered, "I'll check on her," and walked up the the stairs towards Seven's room. "Seven..?" No response came, but Six could hear Seven's choked sobs through the door. He tried to open it, but it was locked, and wouldn't budge. "Seven?" He called, his voice filled with worry. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Seven opened the door, and squeezed Six in a hug. "Thank you for being here...thank you…" she whispered, and attempted to move past Six, but he stopped her by outstretching an arm. "Seven-" She pulled past him, and jogged down the stairs into the living room, snatching her keys and bolting out the door. "Seven, where are you going!?" Six called, but it was too late. He darted into the living room, where the twins sat on the ground with pained expressions. Three held up the notebook, and Six read, 'She's gone…'. Six threw open the door and looked out, but Seven's car was nowhere to be found. He felt sick to his stomach.

 **A/N: Where did Seven go? No one knows!**


	9. Chapter 9- All Right

Seven stared out at the view before her, her knees curled up to her chest as she sighed. Her hand reached for the knife she always kept on her. It was a gift from Jinx for her 21st birthday, and ever since then, it never left her side. Seven studied her reflection in the blade, a strong breeze kicking up. She became furious and distraught. Maybe if she'd been there earlier, Jinx would've survived. Maybe if she had alerted doctors sooner, Jinx would still be here. She shook her head; no, this wasn't her fault. With a sigh, Seven stood up, took one final look at herself in the metal of the knife, and reached behind her head.

Six left as soon as he knew the twins would be okay alone. He didn't have a car, so he had to resort to using his bike to search for his friend. He began by searching some alleys and corners, then the shops Seven liked, and finally, the lakefront. He found no one. Sighing heavily, he hopped onto his bike and was about to leave when he heard a yell of his name. Turning around, he saw a figure running towards him. He quickly jumped off the bike and ran towards the figure. Once he was close enough, he recognized the figure, but couldn't put a name on her. She looked like Seven, but her hair was way too short to be- "Six!" she cried out, and in that moment, Six knew who he had found. It _was_ Seven. "Seven!" He cried, colliding with her in a hug. "What happened to-"

"My hair? I cut it." Seven said cheerily, drawing the knife, which still had strands of brown hair on it. "I see, but what were you thinking!? You scared us half to death by running away!" Seven's smile faded, and she looked down. "I'm sorry...it's just, Jinx and I used to come here often...we would swim and have picnics…" She shook her head. "I guess I just...wanted closure or something." A ding came from Seven's pocket. She took out her phone and read the message displayed on the screen. "Mom says the funeral will be in a week...on Friday," Seven stated. "You will come, won't you? Won't everybody?" Seven said hopefully, looking Six in the eyes. "Of course we'll be there!" Six replied. Seven smiled and tightly hugged her friend. "Thanks for being here, Six. You're such a great friend." Six nodded and the duo walked to Seven's car, managing to shove Six's bike into the trunk. They soon arrived home, where everyone was waiting for them in the living room. Eight practically leaped into Six's arms when they walked through the door.

"Six! We were so worried, the twins told us everything-" Seven cleared her throat. Everyone turned to her, and gasped. "Your hair!" Seven chuckled and rolled her eyes, then moved to squeeze in on the couch between Five and Nine. "Yeah, yeah, I chopped most of my hair off, so what? My sister dies and that's the first thing you guys notice?" She spat. They all looked down except Nine and the twins, who darted to her side. "It's all right. I know most of you didn't know Jinx, or even know I had a sister, but I thank you for the thought. I hope you can all make it to the funeral, though. Most of my family will be there, including Ma and Pa, who are…" she shuddered, "eccentric. And if you do come, do _not_ wear black. In my family, death just means a new beginning, hence…" she pointed to her hair. "We are very sorry for your loss, Seven…" Two whispered. Seven hugged him, and laughed. "I've decided to become a more positive person, just like my family and Jinx. I will remember her as not just a sibling, but a best friend and person you could trust."

After everyone had been calmed and talked to, Seven went to her room to retrieve a photograph of Jinx. When she brought it out, she let everyone take a look at the girl. Jinx was tall, like Seven, and had long, curly purple hair. Her eyes were deep blue, and her skin was fair, much like Seven's. "I'm gonna miss ya, Jinx." Seven sighed, and kissed the photo before stuffing it into her pocket. "Well, I'm pretty beat, so I'm going to sleep." As she began to walk up the stairs, Seven stopped and giggled. "Oh, and Eight, Six? Don't make too much noise while you're having sex, okay?" The duo blushed as red as a tomato at Seven's comment, Six hiding his face behind his hands as he dashed to his room. Eight quickly met him there a few moments later, and they sat together on Six's bed. "So, you knew JInx?" Eight asked. "Yeah, went to high school together, used to have a crush on her, actually…" Six replied quietly. "I know it must've been hard for you to hear the news," Eight responded. "Well, to tell you the truth, Seven actually told me Jinx had leukemia a couple years back...I think she might've told Nine, too, but she didn't speak to anyone else about it." Eight nodded his head, and quietly snuggled into his boyfriend. "Think Seven'll be alright?" Six chuckled. "I have a feeling she'll be more than alright."

 **A/N: My babies are all okay! And slightly more fluff, yay!**


	10. Chapter 10- The Funeral

The funeral was, to say the least, a very unexpected thing, Despite Seven telling her friends that her family was eccentric, they were still not ready for _this_. Everyone was in brightly colored clothes, the radio was playing upbeat music, and the casket was open with Jinx's body in a white dress with multicolored polka dots and her hair divided into two pigtails. Six looked over her body with sadness; he hadn't known her very well, but that didn't mean he wouldn't miss her. Suddenly, a hand landed on Six's shoulder, and he whipped around to face a couple middle-aged people. "Ah, you must be Seven's new boyfriend! She's told us so much about you!" The woman exclaimed. Six blushed. "Um, actually...I'm with him," he said, pointing to Eight, who was talking to One. "Oh, an open relationship, I see!" Six blushed yet again. "No, no! I'm _only_ with him," The woman's face saddened. The man said, "Oh well, we always thought our Seven had gotten herself a new boyfriend after that Spike kid. Come on, dear, maybe she's grown attached to some of these other fine young men…" The man guided his wife over to Five and Two, who immediately seemed to become uncomfortable at the idea of Seven being their girlfriend. So, they must be Seven's parents, Six thought.

Finally, the woman of the hour appeared, dressed in a white Lolita-style dress, with a man beside her, and her parents rushed over to her. "Seven! We are so glad to see you! And I'm _loving_ the new hair!" Her mother yelled. Everyone turned to look at Seven, and she blushed, pushing a short piece of hair behind her ear. "Uh, yeah…" She looked at the people she lived with, and cleared her throat, pointing to the man beside her. "Everyone, this is my brother, Domino." Six soon realized why they called him that. His hair was short and jet black, and his skin was ghostly pale. He was also only wearing white and black. "Uh, hi," everyone mumbled uncomfortably, and rightfully so. Domino was about 6'6", which made the 6'1" Seven look tiny, and he had a murderous look in his eyes. He whispered something in Seven's ear, and then walked back towards the casket. The cheeriness of the funeral returned, and everyone went back to what they'd been doing. Seven sprinted over to her friends, patting her dress down. "Sorry about that. Like I said, _crazy_ family...anyway, how are you guys holding up?"

"As well as we can," One grumbled. Seven ignored him, and continued to chat with the others. Suddenly, a car began to pull up that was blasting rock music, and everyone turned to look. Out of it stepped a tall man with pure white hair, donning a black leather jacket, torn jeans, and black sunglasses. "Oh _hell no_ ," Seven hissed, stomping towards the man. "Oh hey, it's good ol' Seven! How ya been, girl?" Seven was fuming. She balled her hands into fists, and stared directly into the man's eyes. "What are you doing here, Spike?" She said through clenched teeth. "Just payin' my respects to ol' Junkie Jinx." Seven began to scream. "Don't call her that! You didn't even know Jinx! LEAVE!" At this point, the others had begun to crowd around Seven, just in case she really lost it. "Damn, girl, calm down!" He laughed. "So ya just don't care for me none anymore, eh? That's aight. I liked Jinx more anyway; you were a daddy's girl, Jinx did whatever she wanted." That set Seven off. Before Spike could process what had happened, Seven had him on the ground and was punching him in the face. Seven's parents shrieked, and Domino practically teleported over, him and Nine dragging the kicking and screaming Seven away from bloodied Spike.

"Let go of me! That bastard was the reason Jinx ran away and got into drugs!" Six instantly scurried over to Seven, trying to calm her down. "Seven, calm down!" Nine yelled. Seven went still and looked at the people above her. She sighed. "Dammit...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lose my temper like that...it's just...Spike was Jinx's dealer, and he manipulated her into running away. Also, before that, he used to be my boyfriend." Domino's face remained steeled, but Six and Nine looked stunned. "I guess it doesn't matter anymore now, though." She stood up, brushed off her dress, and walked over to Spike."Sorry for punching you in the face. Now, leave. You aren't welcome here." Spike rolled his eyes and mumbled "whatever" before getting into his car and speeding off. The rest of the funeral went well, it ending with Seven giving the eulogy and everyone saying goodbye to Jinx a final time before she was put to rest. "Goodbye, Jinx. I'll...I'll try to make you proud." Seven whispered, before watching them close the casket and begin to bury it. She sighed, and walked over to her friends.

When the family arrived home, Seven said goodnight to everyone and stayed in her room the rest of the night. The twins tried to speak to her for about an hour before Six and Eight had to coax them away with promises that she'd talk in the morning. In Eight's room, Six and Eight talked about Seven, and if she was still upset. "No doubt she still is, but she'll get over it. Seven's tough." Eight said. "Yeah," Six responded. They sat in silence for a while before they both gave way to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11- The Bar

**A/N: This chapter is mostly fun stuff and a lot of singing, just to take a break from the seriousness of the recent chapters. Besides, I've wanted to write something like this for a while. Be warned if you can't handle karaoke!**

When the twins suggested a karaoke night, everyone looked at them oddly. "A _what_ , now?" One had said. "You must be kidding," Five commented. But the boys stood there and shook their heads, Three jotting down, "It could help Seven get over her depression." When Seven was mentioned, the guys looked at each other and finally decided that they would sing some, just to cheer up Seven. "Hey, Seven..?" Six said quietly at Seven's door. "Yeah?" she called back. "We're, uh, going out...you wanna come with us?" Six heard the woman sigh before she answered, "I guess," and opened the door. She had on torn jean shorts, a Harley Quinn T-shirt, and at least four pairs of socks underneath plain tennis shoes. "Ya gonna stand there staring or let me out?" Seven chuckled. Six shook his head and whispered 'sorry' before letting her out the door.

The bar was more than crowded; it was chock full of young adults drinking and singing "terrible pop music" (One had said that). Despite Six not being quite old enough to drink, Eight managed to slip him a hard cider, saying that he "needed to start small". The ones old enough to drink, which was actually everyone else, ordered drinks that _hopefully_ wouldn't get them too tipsy and watched the reruns of _The Walking Dead_ on the TVs in the room. "Man, that Spencer guy was a bitch," Seven commented as one of the characters was gutted onscreen. One actually had to look away for fear he might lose his stomach and vomit everywhere. The others laughed at him before someone on the karaoke stage said, "It is now 10 o'clock and the party's just getting started! I'm gonna choose one of you fine young women to come up here and sing to your heart's content! Now…" The guy closed his eyes, and pointed out toward the audience, waving his hand back and forth before it finally landed on Seven. He opened his eyes and yelled, "Yes! You are perfect! Girl in the Harley Quinn shirt, come on up and choose a song!" Seven blushed darkly as her friends practically shoved her onstage and waited for her to sing.

"Uh...my name's Seven, and I will be singing…" She stopped, thinking. Finally, an idea came to her mind and she screamed, "I'll be singing 'Complicated' by Avril Lavigne!" She stopped and waited for the DJ to pull up the lyrics and music for the song, then began to sing. " _Chill out, whatcha yelling for? Lay back, it's all been done before, and if, you could only let it be, then you will see!_ " She took a breath, then continued on. " _I like you the way you are, when we're drivin' in your car, and you're talkin' to me, one-on-one, what you've become…somebody else, 'round everyone else! You're watchin' your back, like you can't relax! You're tryin' to look cool, you look like a fool to me…"_ Another breath. The guys were genuinely surprised at how well Seven could sing; she wasn't a very feminine woman, but actually had a good voice. " _Tell me...why'd you ever go and make things so complicated? I see the way you're actin' like you're somebody else gets me frustrated! Life's like this, you fall and you crawl and you take what you get and you turn it into...honestly you promised you I'm never gonna find you fake it, no, no, no…"_ She paused for air again; then continued on, blushing hard at the positive whoops and hollers she was receiving. " _You come over unannounced, dressed up like you're something else...where you are, where it's all you see, you're makin' me...laugh out when you strike your pose! Take off all your preppy clothes, you know you're not foolin' anyone, when you've become…"_

" _Somebody else 'round everyone else, you're watchin' your back like you can't relax, you're tryin' to be cool, you look like a fool to me…"_ The rest of the song came and gone, and in a flash, Seven's performance was over. She received a booming applause from the audience, and bowed. In Harley Quinn's accent, she yelled, "Thanks, ya stinkin' fools!" Everyone burst into laughter, including her friends, whom she strode offstage to. "How'd ya like the show?" She laughed, still donning her Harley Quinn accent. "It was awesome! Who knew you could sing that well?!" Nine stated proudly, taking Seven into a tight hug, which she blushed at. He then took a swig of whatever alcoholic beverage he had, clutched the bottle, and stormed onstage. "I'm Nine, and I'll be singi-" he hiccuped, "Alcohol by Barenaked Ladies!" Seven and Five exploded in fits of laughter, watching their best friend about to publicly humiliate himself. The DJ turned the music on, and Nine began to sing. " _Alcohol, my permanent accessory! Alcohol, a party time necessity! Alcohol, alternative to feelin' like yourself! Oh alcohol, I still drink to your health!"_ Everyone in the audience began to crack up, laughing like they never had before at Nine's horrible singing and terrible voice cracks.

" _I love you more, than I did the week before I discovered alcohol! Forget the cafe latte, screw the raspberry iced tea! A malibu and Coke for you, a G &T for me!" _He sang as he pointed to Seven, who was killing herself laughing. " _Alcohol, your songs resolve like my life never will, when someone else is picking up the bill!"_ He pointed to One, who stared daggers at the younger man. " _I love you more than I did the week before I discovered alcohol! Oh alcohol, would you please forgive me? For while I cannot love myself, I'll use something else!"_ By that point, nearly everyone was doubled over, either not breathing or laughing to the point of not breathing. Seven and Five had practically fallen on each other, the twins were simply howling with laughter, and Eight was actually on the floor, trying to catch his breath. " _I thought that alcohol was just for those with nothing else to do! I thought that drinking just to get drunk was a waste of precious booze! But now I know that there's a time and there's a place where I can choose to walk the fine line between self-control, and self-abuse!"_ Now, Nine began to drink the beer in his hand, Seven, Five, Two, and Eight screaming, "Chug! Chug! Chug!" with everyone else joining in too. At the end of the break, he had drunk all of the beer, which had been at half a bottle before. Then he slammed the bottle on the stage, shattering it, and sang again. However, after only a couple words, he stopped, and before the audience knew it, Nine had puked everywhere, and fallen backwards.

The music shut off, and the people not dying of laughter scuttled to Nine's side, helping him up and beginning to clean up the mess. Once Nine had been taken to his friends, Seven had one look at him before she roared with laughter, slapping him on the back and kneeling over. "Oh- oh man, Nine, I fucking love you! You're such an idiot! Please, puke on One for us!" Nine had come to his senses, albeit blurred, and stared at Seven with annoyance. "No! Promise me," he hiccuped as he turned to Five, "...that you'll never let me have that much beer in one night again." Five quickly nodded his head, but was still cracking up, even more so as the drunk Nine collapsed into Five's arms. The group was just heading out the door as One rapidly apologized for the trouble they caused and paid the bill, which was around two hundred dollars. When they got outside, everyone had finally calmed down, and One stopped in front of the group, a scowl on his face. He took a large breath, and then shrieked, "You are all idiots! I'm never taking you children out again!" Even though One was livid, Seven decided to test his patience and began snickering. "What is so funny, girl?!" One shouted at Seven. "You're pathetic!" She howled, doubling over. The others held their breath and inched away as One came closer to the woman. "Listen here, young lady-" He was interrupted by Seven's barks of laughter. "You're not my dad, don't say that shit! Oh god," she laughed, trying to catch her breath.

"I need," she inhaled, running her hand through her hair, "some water." One was about to shout again, but Two calmed him and everyone packed into either One or Two's car, beginning to drive home. Once in the car, Two handed Seven a water bottle and she began to drink it almost as quickly as she had chugged down her beer. As they drove, Seven must've thought of something hilarious, because about four minutes from their house, she laughed and accidentally spat water all over Nine's face. He was not happy. "I'm going to kill you when we-" he hiccuped, "get home." Seven laughed even more. "I'd like to see you try, Skinny." It was true, though, as much as Nine hated to admit it. He was much thinner than the athlete, not to mention having not nearly as much muscle on him as Seven did. If the woman decided to fight any one of her friends, they would all be on the floor in seconds, with the possible exception of Eight. Nine rolled his eyes and grumbled, making everyone else chuckle. They soon arrived to their house, and Seven bolted inside, for reasons unknown to everyone else. Once Nine had dragged himself in, he was soon laughing as hard as Seven had been when he saw the woman kneeled over the toilet, vomiting. "Karma's a bitch," he commented. The last thing anyone heard from Seven that night was, "Go fuck yourself, Skinny!"

 **A/N: Drunk dorks are adorable. One's an ass. I loved writing this chapter so much, y'all don't understand-**

 **Also, sorry about the delay! Had some stuff going on. Also, another Seven chapter! Yay! Remember to leave a review if you liked it or, heck, even disliked it! And thanks to Generalhyne for following and favoriting this story! It means a lot to me, and I really appreciate it!**


	12. Chapter 12

Five was anything but average, as his friends would tell you. The first thing you would notice about the man was his face. He had an eyepatch that covered his left eye, where, if he took it off, you could see his eye socket. His left eye was missing. Only thing was, no one knew what had happened that he had lost an eye. When they thought about it, they didn't know much about Five at all. Finally, as this had been bugging him for quite some time, Nine confronted the other man about it. "Hey, Five..? I was wondering if I could talk to you for a while." No one but the two men were home, with the others out doing something and the duo being off from school and work. "Sure, what do you need to talk about?" Five said. "Well, um...I don't know if asking will offend you or anything, but…" Five stared at Nine with interest. "How…" Nine looked down, slightly embarrassed. "How did you lose your eye?" Five's smile faded. He looked around, uncomfortable, before finally looking back at Nine. It struck Nine that he had never looked Five directly in the face. He began to notice more things, like Five's striking green eye and the little freckles he had around his cheeks and nose. He also felt a little intimidated, and honestly, who wouldn't? Five was 6'2" and wore an eyepatch, and what with the way the man was staring at him, Nine began to feel a little scared. "Five..?"

Five was snapped out of his trance. "Uh, sorry about that, Nine." He sighed. "You see, I...I was, um...I used to be very poor...and this was when I lived with my parents, so I was about sixteen. I found out that my family couldn't pay the upcoming bills, and I began to...I started to…" Five looked down, wringing his hands. "I went into a very bad business. I sold drugs, and it was just enough to keep my family afloat. Well, one night, I had just finished giving a regular his heroin, and I began to walk home. I was just turning a corner when it happened...three men jumped me. They beat me, stole my money and drugs, and ran off. I tried to go after them, but one had a gun, and before I knew it…" Five made a gun symbol with his hand and pointed it to his left eye, making a sound. "A good person found me and he rushed me to the hospital. Thank god the bullet didn't get through to my brain...anyway, there was no saving the eye, so they bandaged me up as best as they could and sent me home. My parents...they found out what I had been doing, and, ashamed of me, threw me out onto the streets. Luckily, that same guy helped me out again, and let me live with him for a while. I've lived with him ever since." Nine was shocked. He knew Five probably hadn't had an easy life but he didn't expect him to actually have dealt drugs. "You mean...One was the man who took you in?" Five nodded.

"Yeah," Five looked away, and Nine knew the conversation was over. "You wanna watch iZombie or something..?" Nine asked. Five looked up and smiled. "Sure." Later that day, Seven, Eight, and Six came home to find the barely awake Five and Nine snuggled together on the couch, yawning and trying to keep their eyes open. "Aww, this is just too sweet." Seven said with a grin. The two men on the couch jumped, and slid away from each other. "It's not what it looks like!" Squealed Nine. "Sure. That's what Eight and Six said, now look at them," she giggled, scurrying to her room before the others could reply. "I seriously don't know how I deal with her," Nine muttered, nuzzling back into Five. Eight and Six chuckled at the sight, before walking to Eight's room. Finally, in the evening, Two, One, Three, and Four all returned home, everyone tired from a long day. Everyone piled onto the couch and chairs and Seven, like usual, flipped on the TV, which was airing an episode of, you guessed it, iZombie. The family ordered Chinese and watched in relative quietness, until Seven said, "Why is everyone getting together? It's making feel awkward." Two rolled his eyes. "Not everyone," Seven grumbled, and after she ate her food, she was passed out on the couch, drooling on Nine's shoulder. Nine mouthed 'help' to Two, but he only stifled a laugh and waved it off. Nine looked to Eight and Six, but they were engrossed in the show. Nine sighed and let his head fall back against the couch.

 ** **A/N: More stuff. I've decided to change the story a little, so now instead of focusing just on a few characters, I'll try to give every character their own chapter from now on. Oh, and I am open for requests! Thanks for reading! P.S. : Couldn't think of a good name for this chapter, so it's just chapter 12 for now.****


	13. Chapter 13- The Twins (plus Seven)

**The twin brothers were exhausted. They had spent their entire day at the library, mainly helping people and putting misplaced books back onto their shelves. Believe it or not, running around and doing that was actually rather tiring. So, when they finally got home, they decided to try and relax. Of course, that didn't happen. Seven was in the kitchen, about to burn the house down with whatever she was cooking, Six and Eight were complaining about something, and One was asleep on the couch, Nine and Five having a field day drawing stuff all over his face. Three had had it. It was too loud, and everyone was being obnoxious, so he stomped on the ground as hard as he could, making the noise stop and having all eyes trained on him. He quickly jotted down something in the notebook he and Four always kept on them, and raised it up so that everyone could see. It read, "We have been working our asses off all day and we come home to this!? Can't you all act like civilized people for once?" Four nodded and took the notebook from Three, adding, "Seven, don't even try to cook. Nine and Five, act more mature than high school kids. Six and Eight, don't complain about everything. One, you have writing all over your face. And Two…" The twins actually didn't know where Two was. Well, at least they couldn't hear him. Everyone else looked down, ashamed of what they had done.**

 **"** **Sorry," they grumbled. Seven stood in front of the short boys and looked to the side, sighing. "I'm sorry…I tried to calm them down, but they wouldn't listen...Two's in his room, if you want to see him." It was the twins' turn to feel bad, as they immediately hugged the taller Seven, mouthing 'sorry for being jerks' over and over again. "It's all right," Seven whispered. She then yawned loudly, and rubbed her eyes. "Ugh, I'm so tired...let me put up the stuff I was cooking and then…" her voice trailed off as she walked into the kitchen. The twins dashed in front of her, shaking their heads. Four wrote something down and then showed it to Seven. "Fine, fine," she chuckled, "I'll go to bed early. You sure you can handle cleaning up that mess?" Seven pointed to the horribly burnt food on the stove. The boys nodded, and then gently pushed Seven away. "Goodnight, Three and Four," she yawned, and walked up the stairs to her room. The twins looked back at the burnt food and messy stovetop. They were exhausted, but someone had to clean up Seven's disastrous cooking. Eventually, everyone started to go to their rooms, and soon Three and Four were the only ones awake. They had finally finished cleaning the kitchen and were weary, ready to say hello to their beds. Just as they made their way through their bedroom door, a shadow cast in the room. They whipped around, and sighed contently when they realized it was Seven.**

 **Three was about to speak up, but Seven put up her hand. "What's bothering you two? I know you better than just about anyone, I can tell when something's up. What happened?" The twins looked at each other, and Three began to write. "We had some difficulties with a visitor to the library today…" it read. Seven nodded, and Three continued writing. "He was a young, teenaged boy, and he made a big deal of making fun of our names and my muteness." Seven looked shocked. "I...really? Aw man, I'm sorry…" Four then did the unexpected. He spoke. "He had no right to make fun of Three just because he's mute! He had no right to make fun of Three at all!" Four was livid. Seven was so momentarily stunned that Four could speak that she forgot that she could too. "I..I'm very sorry…" she whispered. Four seemed to calm down a bit. "I know," he said. Seven noticed how terrible Four's voice sounded, and winced at his speaking. "Four...you never told me…" Three clung to his brother tightly, and wrote something down. It said, "Four became a selective mute at a very young age, when he was learning that I couldn't speak. He's only spoken this much to me, and even that is rare." Seven was stunned. "I always thought you were both born mutes…" Four shook his head. "No. I'm sorry I never told you the truth, Seven…"**

 **"** **It's completely fine," Seven said with a small smile. "I can tell it's something you two don't like to talk about, so I'm not gonna pressure you to speak more." Three and Four smiled tiredly. "Well, I can tell you guys are pretty beat, so I'm gonna go now. Remember to call me if you need anything." With that, Seven grinned and walked out, slowly closing the door behind her. Four and Three looked at each other, and then snuggled together into the bed they shared. "Three?" Four whispered. Three looked up at Four, who was playing with his brother's curly hair. "Did what that brat said get to you?" Three shook his head. "All right. Just making sure." Three smiled and turned off the lamp, turning so that he could nuzzle into Four's chest. Despite Three being slightly older than Four, Four was very protective of his twin and acted liked the older one more often than not. The duo quietly fell into sleep, with Three's head on Four's chest and Four's hand in Three's hair.**

 **Three awoke panting and with sweat dripping down his face. No, he thought, please no. It had been another nightmare. Like Six, Three was very prone to terrible nightmares, albeit his weren't prophetic. He sighed, calmed his breathing, and checked on Four. Yes, his twin was still there. He shuddered at the thought of his nightmare. Four and him had been talking together in the dream (apparently Three's dream self could speak) when a man had swooped in out of nowhere and kidnapped both of them. Three remembered being taken to an abandoned warehouse and being tied to a chair, a cloth covering his mouth. Then came the most terrible part. The man began to beat and torture Four, Four's screams enough to make Three want to sob. It was a terrible nightmare. Three sighed and pushed himself out of bed, and headed down to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. However, as he approached downstairs, he noticed a light was on. Quietly, he slunk down the rest of the way, and calmed down when he saw a familiar figure on the couch. Seven. She was watching TV, her head propped up by her hand, and apparently hadn't noticed Three. Just as Three thought he would be safe from her seeing him, she said, "I can hear you, Three. What're you doing up at 2 in the morning?"**

 **Three sighed, grabbed a nearby notepad, and jotted down, "Had a nightmare. Needed some water." He took it over to Seven, whom he noticed looked dreadful. Her eyes were puffy and red, with bags under them, and she had snot dripping out of her nose. Her short hair was a mess, tangled and dirty. "Oh...I'm sorry. You need to talk about it?" She muttered with a scratchy voice, like she had used it all by screaming. Three shook his head and wrote, "No, I'm fine, but you look horrible! What happened?" Seven chuckled and Three noticed something was off. There were beer cans and bottles strewn everywhere, and a large tub of ice cream on the coffee table in front of his friend. He gulped. "I didn't think you or anyone else would be awake...I didn't want anyone, especially you or Four, to see me like this." She ran a hand through her hair. "I guess I'm still mourning Jinx. I miss her a lot," Three nodded, and sat down beside his friend, forgetting about the water. He wrote, "If Four died, I don't think I would ever be the same. You two were very close, I can tell." Seven nodded. She stretched, her joints popping, and stood up. She was only wearing a loose tank top and pajama shorts, and she kneeled down to pick up the beer cans and bottles. There were about eight lying around. Three looked at his friend in pity. He hated seeing her depressed and drunk, but what could he do? He couldn't even speak.**

 **** **He helped the woman pick up the trash and put away the ice cream, and had to catch Seven a few times when she stumbled. "Sorry," She said, her eyes glistening with tears. She gripped Three in a tight hug, knocking the air out of Three's lungs. He smiled and hugged her back, but pulled away quickly due to him not being able to breathe. "I am** ** _so sorry_** **you had to see me like this. Some fuckin' role model I am…" She grumbled. "I need some sleep. I'll see you in the mornin', okay?" With that, she ruffled Three's hair and stumbled up the stairs. Three shook his head and helped her up when she fell near the top. "Fuck!" She cursed when she fell, clutching her leg. Three, despite being tiny compared to Seven, helped her stand up and led her to her room. He scribbled down, "Are you sure you'll be all right? I don't want you to wake up in vomit from all that alcohol…" Seven smiled weakly. Three really did care for her, and she did for him, but she insisted she was fine, and curled up in her bed. She fell asleep a few minutes later. Three smiled at the sight. I hope she'll be all right, he thought as he closed the door behind him and walked back to his shared room.**

 **A/N: I guess a half-happy half-sad chapter? Anyway, sorry for the delay of this chapter! I haven't been writing as much as I want to due to school and IRL shit.**


	14. Chapter 14- The Movie

Nine awoke with silence. He peered over at his clock, which read 10:31 AM, Sunday. No school, and it seemed like everyone else had work to attend to. He yawned, and walked out of his room and down to the kitchen, where the twins and Seven were, watching some movie on TV. "Uh, hey," He said weakly to the trio. They turned around and Seven rasped, "Yo." Nine was surprised. Seven looked awful, she had dark bags under her eyes, messy hair, and dried snot on her face. "Uh, Seven...you alright?" Seven nodded quickly. "Oh, sure. Just stayed up _really_ late last night," Nine was suspicious that she was hiding something, and his suspicions came true as he was pouring milk into a bowl and Three scrambled over with a note that said, "She was drinking heavily last night. Poor girl could barely walk. I had to help her." Nine rubbed his face, finished making his cereal, and confronted Seven; the twins hurrying back to their room to give the duo some space. "I heard you were drinking again." even choked on her water and flicked the TV off. "Three told you, huh?" Nine nodded. "Why, Seven? Are you still upset over..?" Nine didn't have to finish his sentence to get the point across.

"Yes, Nine, I am still upset that my sister died. I hope that's okay with you." Seven spat. "Seven, don't be a bitch. I know you're going through a hard time, but as your friend I won't allow you to abuse yourself and be a jerk to everyone." Seven's expression softened, and tears glinted in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Nine. Jinx was so close to me...and you're right, being upset does not authorize me to be an asshole to my friends and drink until my liver shuts down." She sighed, and pulled Nine into a tight hug with her strong arms. He blushed, and hugged her back. "Y'know what? We should go do something. Like...I dunno, see a movie? I want to see Logan. You up for that?" Seven asked. Nine nodded. "Sure!" The duo chatted cheerily as they climbed into Seven's car and raced off to the movie theater. Two and a half hours later the pair were sobbing and shoveling uneaten popcorn into their mouths to help cope with the death of Logan. "I can't believe he's dead!" Choked Seven. "Now all we have left is Laura and her friends!" Added an equally depressed Nine. However, when the two got home looking like absolute messes to their friends, the others immediately assumed something had happened.

"Seven, is it about Jinx?" Five asked. "No! It's about Logan! He's dead!" She shouted, curling into a weeping ball by the staircase. They all looked alarmed, but Nine calmed them. "We went to go see that new movie, Logan. Turns out he dies at the end." Relieved, they all went back to doing whatever they had been doing, with One mumbling, "Thanks for spoiling the movie." Eight chuckled with Six, Five, and Two at Nine trying to comfort Seven. They knew that the two might end up a couple, and it seemed to be happening. "Shh, it's all right, Seven," Nine cooed, which relaxed Seven enough that she tightly hugged him- much to the delight of the others- and got herself a bowl of ice cream. With that, she squeezed onto the couch beside Nine and the twins to watch whatever was on. The reporter on the television was talking about the grand opening of a new store at the mall- a stuffed animal shop- before switching to the weather. Seven paused the TV. "A new Build-A-Bear at the mall..?" She whispered to herself. "Hey, anyone wanna go shopping?"

 **A/N: Seven really likes stuffed animals for whatever reason. More about that in the next chapter! By the way, I'm super sorry for the delay on this! I haven't really gotten into a writing mood in a while.**


	15. Chapter 15- The Girl

Though it was late, the mall was still open, and many of the visitors to the mall were puzzled by a woman practically dragging eight men behind her. They were even more puzzled when they saw the group enter Build-A-Bear. Seven had a childlike grin on her face as she entered the store and began rummaging through the stuffed animal bins. "Hey! Lady! What're you doing?" Yelled a voice from across the store. A young girl in a tank top and jean shorts speed walked over to the group. She was wearing sunglasses for some reason, even though it was night and they were inside. "Uh, looking for a stuffed animal I want?" Seven said. "Heh, oh. Thought you may be up to no good. Name's Toph. Y'all need any help?" "Wait...your name-" Toph growled. "Yeah, I'm named after a cartoon character! Got a problem with that? Oh, and I am blind, if you're wondering." Toph snapped, pulling her sunglasses down to reveal milky, glazed over orbs. Seven yelped in surprise, and so did the others. "My parents were nuts, okay? And if you're wondering about Katara, Aang, and Sokka...well, I can tell you Sokka and Aang are gone right now. However...KATARA!" Toph shouted. "Toph, stop harassing those poor customers and get back to work. Also, I told you to stop calling me Katara. I'm not a water-bender at all." Said a slightly older girl who had stepped out to stare at Toph.

"Okay, Leigh. Whatever ya say, boss. Also, watch them. They're probably up to no good." Toph snorted, jerking her hand in the direction of Seven and her friends. After Toph had stomped off, Leigh facepalmed and shook her head. "I am so sorry about that. Toph's a little...odd." Leigh looked up, and Five gave a gasp. "Leigh! I didn't know you worked here!" Leigh looked confused at first, then recognition crossed her face and she cried, "Five!" The two ran up and hugged each other. "Man, it's been a while! How come you didn't-" Five cut her off. "I thought you moved to Florida!" Leigh shook her head. "I did, but I moved right back here after I turned eighteen. It's so good to see you again!" Five and Leigh hugged again, and then Five, rather sheepishly, stated, "Leigh and I went to high school together. We were really good friends. Leigh, I want you to meet my housemates!" Leigh waved. "Hi!" Five smiled and turned to his baffled friends. "This is Seven, Nine, Three, and Four," he said, pointing at the twins and Seven and Nine, "this is Eight, Six, and Two, and that grumpy old man is One." One snorted, and Leigh chuckled. "I'm Leigh Stevens." Everyone awkwardly said quiet hellos and Leigh snapped out of her trance.

"Oh, damn! It's almost closing time. I should've helped you earlier...anyway, I take it Seven is the only one getting a stuffed animal?" Seven's childish grin returned, and she nodded vigorously. "Cool. Well, here are our bears…" Leigh said, leading Seven over to the stuffed animal wall. The others looked at Five with sly smiles. "What...oh no. Oh no no no no. We're not- I mean, we were, but-" Five sighed and ran off to join the girls, the others in tow. "Okay, so you want an Easter rabbit?" Leigh asked, grabbing the purple and blue stuffed animal from a bin. "Mhm." Seven watched with glee in her eyes and a smile a mile long on her face as Leigh began to stuff the rabbit. Once she was done, she led everyone to the counter and Seven began to pay. "What're you gonna name her?" Leigh questioned. Seven smiled lightly. "Jinx." Leigh smiled back. "Awesome name. Anyway, I think Toph slipped out while we were busy, so let me close up shop and then I'll join you guys outside." Everyone waited outside while Leigh disappeared to lock everything up. "I like your girlfriend," Seven teased as as she squeezed her stuffed rabbit. "She's not my girlfriend anymore," Five mumbled. "Oh? So what got between you two?" Seven pressed with a devilish grin. Five was about to yell at her when Leigh materialized next to them, the store closed up.

"Sorry about that. I hope y'all don't mind if I come over to your place? Five and I do have some catching up to do." Five blushed. "Mi casa es su casa," Seven said. They all laughed as they headed out of the mall and to their cars, with Five riding in Leigh's car and the others piling into Seven and One's cars. "So...how've you been?" Five asked Leigh. "I've been all right. I'm still in college, chasing my doctorate. You?" Five smiled. "I run a workshop with Two. And I've been fine, I suppose." Leigh nodded. "Yeah? That's really great! So, um...how's your eye?" Five's smile faded. "Still gone." Leigh looked down. "Sorry...I'm sorry I didn't contact you sooner." Five hugged her again. "No, it's fine. I'm sorry I never contacted you either." Leigh smiled and started the car, and began to drive.

"Whoa! Y'all have a huge house!" Leigh said as she arrived to the home. "Yep. There are nine of us living here, after all." Leigh looked at Five and smiled, blushing slightly. They entered the house, and everyone wasn't surprised when Leigh and Five darted to Five's room and slammed the door. When the door had been locked and closed, Five turned to Leigh. "So...what's up?" He said rather awkwardly. Leigh giggled. "Not much. If you're wondering what I've been doing the past four years, well, I can only sum it up one way. It's been pretty bad. I've bounced around jobs and places to live, I almost dropped out of college three times, my brother's still an ass…" She sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that, Leigh. I hoped that you would've been better off after I left." Leigh shook her head. "It's fine, really. What about you?" Five contemplated. He was a few years older than Leigh, but everything had actually gone pretty smoothly with him. No run-ins with the gangs, his eye wasn't getting worse, he even had supportive friends whom he lived with. "I hate to say it, but I've been the opposite. I've got great friends I live with, I haven't run-in with the old gangs...I've been all right." Leigh smiled. "I'm glad you're at least doing well." She yawned loudly, and checked the time on her phone. "Shit!" She hissed. "What?"

"It's already 11:30! I need to go home, but my brother's there and I'm tired...but he might invite his friends over to party...what should I do, Five?" Five stopped to think. If he let her go home, she might be tormented by her brother like she had told him about. But if he let her stay, she would get rest and he would protect her from harm. "You should stay here. You're really tired and I don't want you to crash your car because you fell asleep. If you want, you can stay in my room." Leigh's mouth opened for her to speak, but she only yawned. "Okay...I guess I'll stay here for tonight. But Five, my brother...I just hope he doesn't think I'm running off or something." Five smiled lightly. "If he lays a finger on you, he'll answer to me. I promise I'll keep you safe." With that, Leigh slowly melted into Five's arms, and Five pulled a blanket over them. Back in Eight's room, where Six and Eight were sleeping, Six stirred quietly. He was dreaming, and was seeing strange things in his dream. A pregnancy test that was positive...Seven being strangled? A gunshot? And then _it_ happened. All of his friends, starting with One, were shown dying. One had been poisoned, Two had been impaled on a steel tube, Three and Four were stabbed in the eyes...and Eight. He was bloody and beaten, the final hit being a gunshot wound to the heart. It was too terrible to even fathom. Six awoke with a bloodcurdling scream.

 **A/N: A dark ending, but it does mean something. I'm gonna be focusing on Five and Leigh for a while now, maybe more Seven and Six too. Hope you enjoyed!**


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